The invention proceeds from a method for drying an active part containing at least one winding and solid insulations, according to the preamble of patent claim 1. In this case, the active part is arranged in a vacuum-tight housing and, by oil being sprayed in the housing and by means of a current carried in the at least one winding, is heated to a final temperature value determined by the temperature of the winding. At a pressure which is reduced in relation to atmospheric pressure, water is extracted from the heated active part.
If process management is appropriate, a perfectly dried active part is achieved by means of the generic method.
A method of the type initially mentioned is described in DE 195 01 323 A1. In this method, in a vacuum-tight housing, the windings of a transformer are heated to a desired temperature, and dried, by means of current and, in parallel with this, by warmed oil being sprayed in. The oil is sprayed first at atmospheric pressure and then, in a variant of the method, at a pressure which is gradually reduced. By the pressure being lowered typically to 200 mbar, the degassing and dewatering of the windings are improved.
A further method for drying solid insulations was presented by W. Mxc3xcntener/of the company Micafil AG, Zurich, Switzerland, at a symposium held in 1999 in Stuttgart/FRG on the subject xe2x80x9cLFHxe2x80x94Trocknung: Erfahrung und Trendsxe2x80x9d [xe2x80x9cLFHxe2x80x94Drying: Experience and Trendsxe2x80x9d]. In this method, an active part of a transformer arranged in the field and filled with oil is dried. For this purpose, a mobile LHF plant (LFH=Low Frequency Heating) is connected to the high-voltage windings of the transformer which are contained in the active part. The low-voltage windings are short-circuited. The transformer housing is connected to an oil preparation plant and to a vacuum plant.
For drying, the active part is first heated by means of a low-frequency current delivered from the LFH plant and by means of transformer oil, the oil being warmed and circulated via the oil preparation plant.
When the active part is heated to a predetermined desired temperature, the hot transformer oil is removed from the transformer housing and the pressure in the transformer housing is reduced in relation to atmospheric pressure in accordance with Paschen""s Law. During the lowering of pressure, intensive evaporation of the water present in the solid insulations of the active part takes place. At the same time, as a function of the pressure inside the transformer housing and of the height of the temperature of the high-voltage and/or low-voltage winding, the magnitude of the current is changed, in order thereby to achieve careful reheating and consequently a permanent evaporation of the water from the insulations.
In this method and in the method according to DE 195 01 323 A1, an effective extraction of the water occurs only when the active part is heated to the predetermined desired temperature and the housing pressure is lowered well below atmospheric pressure after the removal of the oil.
The object of the invention, as specified in the patent claims, is to provide a method of the type initially mentioned, which allows rapid and particularly careful drying, and to specify a device for carrying out this method which can be produced in a simple way.
In the method according to the invention, before the spraying of the warmed oil, the pressure in the housing is reduced to a working value which is higher than a desired pressure value determined by Paschen""s Law and lower than an upper pressure limit value which, in relation to atmospheric pressure, ensures a high evaporation rate of the water from the active part. Moreover, at the working value, the oil is sprayed in the housing, with the current switched on, and, during the spraying of the oil, the collection of the sprayed oil on the housing bottom and also the rewarming and renewed spraying of the collected oil, the temperature of the winding is kept higher than the temperature of the oil. The active part is thus dried intensively even at the commencement of the heating operation. At this moment, the active part is located in a virtually oil-free evacuated housing in which it is effectively heated by the spraying of the previously warmed oil and by means of LFH heating. The method is therefore particularly quick.
Since, even at relatively low temperatures, the water initially present in the hygroscopic solid insulations of the active part to be dried is removed from the insulations, and, since the active part is heated from inside via the current-carrying winding and at the same time from outside via the sprayed oil, the drying operation is carried out not only rapidly, but at the same time also carefully. A reduction in the dielectric properties of the solid insulations by polymerization is thereby largely ruled out. Since the temperature of the oil is kept below the temperature of the winding arranged inside the active part, the internal parts of the insulations of the active part are warmed up to a greater extent than the external parts exposed to the oil. The water to be removed from the active part is therefore led outward from inside the active part particularly quickly by virtue of diffusion operations.
On account of the rapid drying operation and the small quantity of oil, the incidence of energy is comparatively low and the method according to the invention can be carried out in a highly efficient way. This is also, above all, because, owing to the small oil quantity, a plant carrying out the preparation and warming of the oil can be kept small.
In order to rule out damage to the active part with sufficient reliability, the reduced pressure in the housing is maintained, during the spraying of the oil and heating of the winding by means of current, above a desired pressure value determined by means of Paschen""s Law.
An effective control of the drying method according to the invention is possible when, during the heating of the active part, the quantity of water emerging from the active part per unit time is detected, for example, by a measurement of the steam partial pressure in the housing, and when, below a maximum water quantity emerging per unit time, the winding temperature is kept constant, above all by the spraying of oil. With the current switched off, the reduced pressure can then be lowered below the desired pressure value and drying can then be carried out in a particularly effective and energy-saving manner. In order to improve the degree of drying, it is recommended to raise the pressure to a value above the desired pressure value and to increase the winding temperature successively to a final temperature value as soon as the water quantity occurring per unit time has fallen below a limit value.
The drying quality may additionally be increased when, after the spraying of oil, the oil is removed from the housing at reduced pressure and the winding temperature is at the same time kept constant by heating with current. By means of periodic lowering of the reduced pressure below the desired pressure value, with the current switched off, even small water residues can then still be removed from the active part.
A suitable device for carrying out the method according to the invention has an oil preparation plant for drawing off the oil collected on the housing bottom, for warming the drawn-off oil and for supplying the collected oil, and also a spray device which is arranged in the ceiling of the housing and which is connected to a line supplying warmed oil from the preparation plant. The oil is thus sprayed onto the active part from above and can then discharge a large amount of heat over a relatively long flow path. Since the spray device has a plurality of spray nozzles which are distributed over the ceiling and are oriented toward the active part and which are advantageously designed adjustably, the oil can be sprayed in a specific way and the efficiency of the device thereby additionally increased.